People's Democracy

Barak Deal: Govt Must Proceed Against Israeli Firm Also

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on October 11, 2006

THE lodging of a case against the former defence minister, George Fernandes, the former Samata Party president and the former chief of Naval Staff, for receiving kickbacks in the Barak anti-missile defence system deal, once again highlights the high level corruption which takes place in the purchase of defence equipment. It is shocking that successive governments have failed to tackle this problem and prefer to let a nexus of ruling politicians, bureaucrats and arms dealers to indulge in corrupt practices.

The CBI case on the Barak deal should be pursued impartially and with diligence so that if there has been any wrongdoing the culprits are brought to book. The government and the CBI should not ignore the bribe givers in this case. The Israeli company which offered kickbacks must be proceeded against to start with. The company should be prohibited from any future transactions. The UPA government should not ignore the fact that there are widespread reports of Israeli arms companies, who have become the second largest supplier of defence equipment to India, resorting to illegal methods including bribery. (INN)